


ever yours, faithfully

by eugenides (newamsterdam)



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-08 02:15:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1922937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newamsterdam/pseuds/eugenides
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bones wakes up from surgery. There's someone there with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ever yours, faithfully

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Ever yours, faithfully.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3619848) by [qaroinlove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/qaroinlove/pseuds/qaroinlove)



It’s the pain that hits him first, a dull ache that starts at the base of his skull and radiates outward, pulsing so as not to be forgotten. He hasn’t opened his eyes yet but he groans, feels his features scrunch as he tries to ward off the worst of it. It doesn’t work as well as he’d hoped, but a moment later he feels a warm hand brush against his forehead, and he settles.

He lets out a breath and shifts fully onto his back. It takes him a moment, but he manages to fight through the haze surrounding his thoughts and force his eyes open. 

He blinks several times, adjusting to the too-bright light. Everything around him is white—the ceilings and the walls. He coughs, and immediately there’s a glass of water in front of him. Someone eases the straw between his lips, and he sucks on it instinctively. 

It helps, a bit, though he still feels dizzy. After a moment he lifts his head away from the water and looks around.

There’s a man at his bedside, wearing a golden shirt and looking down at him with a half-smile. In the bright light, the man’s hair seems the same color as his shirt and the white of his teeth is almost blinding. Eventually the man shifts, looks down at the hospital bed and locks eyes with him. His smile grows wider—with happiness, relief? _something_ —and he leans forward. 

“Hey. Bones.” The man’s voice is soft. “How’re you doing?” 

He has to think about that, for a moment, the words jumbled. He feels disconnected, somehow, his thoughts muddied and too small for his body. His brow furrows. 

“I hurt,” he says, frowning. It seems like something a child would say, but it’s the only thing he’s really sure of at the moment. 

The man frowns, tuts in sympathy as he smooths a hand over his brow. “I know. I’m sorry.” 

He reaches for anything, any thought. What he lands on is this—“Did the doctor send you?” There must be a doctor, right? He’s in some kind of hospital bed. 

The man frowns again—he misses the smile. 

“What, are you worried I can’t be in here? I break _out_ of medbay more than _in_ , remember?” 

The words should make sense, but the context is utterly lost on him. “So they _did_ send you?”

The man chuckles, leans in closer and puts a hand on his cheek. “More or less. I wanted to be here when you woke up, Bones.” 

That’s the second time he’s said that.

“What bones?” He sounds far more petulant than he intended, his voice snappish. 

The man doesn’t seem to mind, though the smile freezes on his face for an instant. “ _You_ , Bones.”

“That’s my name?” It’s confusing, but it feels right. 

The man cocks his head to one side, the set of his mouth twisted momentarily. “Close enough,” he says. 

“Alright,” he—Bones—says, huffing out a breath. 

The man laughs. “Just like that?”

He nods, though the movement sets off another twinge of pain. “Just like that.” 

The man reaches for the water again and brings the straw up to Bones’ lips. “You need to finish this, otherwise those meds are gonna wreak havoc on your system.” 

He sips obediently, until he turns his head to ask, “Are you a nurse?” 

The man laughs again, and Bones smiles. 

“No, I’m not a nurse. I’m Jim. Remember?”

“No,” Bones admits, a bit helplessly. There’s something gathering in the pit of his stomach, a feeling that could be overwhelming if it makes its way through the fog of his mind. But for the moment it’s out of reach, so he just sighs. “So you’re not a nurse.”

“Nope,” Jim says easily. He sits down at the foot of the bed, one hand resting on Bones’ knee, the thin medical-issue sheets between them. Bones focuses on his fingers, curled almost protectively. He follows them up to Jim’s wrist—the three stripes on his sleeves, the repeating pattern of his shirt. Bones’ gaze drifts to Jim’s face—his lips pink all over except for the inner lines, which are red and look like he’s been biting down on them. The curve of his chin is—noble? something like that—and there’s a faint texture to his cheeks—a bit of stubble and the lighter skin of faded scars. 

But really it’s his eyes that Bones can’t stop staring at. Maybe it’s the bright lights, but Jim’s eyes are almost too blue, spots of color in the otherwise sterile room. 

“What’re you staring at?” Jim says after a moment, not unkindly.

“You’re so pretty,” Bones says, almost mournfully. Immediately he feels embarrassed—does he normally just say things like that?—but the words are already out, so he continues, “Is that why you’re here? To raise morale?” 

Jim purses his lips, though that doesn’t do much to hide the smile. “No, Bones. I’m here for you.” 

His brow furrows again, the pain in the back of his skull rolling through his thoughts and keeping them from converging. “Who are you?” 

This time, focused on Jim’s eyes, he sees a little flash of hurt before the other man laughs. “I’m the captain of this ship.”

“We’re on a ship?” His voice sounds too loud, but Jim just smiles again.

“Yup. The _Enterprise_. Don’t worry, you can apologize for forgetting her later. Drink your water.”

Clutching the cup, he obediently takes a sip. But then something makes it through the fog.

“Am I dying?”

“What—” Jim almost chokes. “Why would you say that?”

“You’re the captain, right? Someone important. And if this is your ship, maybe you’re here to tell me it’s all over, and that’s why I’m lying here and it hurts so much. Or maybe that’s just something you said, and you’re really an angel, and this _is_ it…” He trails off, unsure of how to continue. 

Jim just shakes his head, smooths the sheet back over Bones’ legs. “You’re not dying, Bones. You’re going to be just fine, even if you had to make do with the ship’s second-best brain surgeon.”

“I had brain surgery?” That’s serious, isn’t it? He sips at his water, trying to keep the anxiety down. 

Jim nods solemnly. “About eight hours ago. But M’Benga says everything went just fine, even if the drugs are going to keep you a little rattled for a bit.” 

“M’Benga,” Bones says, trying out the name. “If he’s the second-best, where’s the first?” 

This time Jim rolls his eyes. “Lying in a biobed,” he says, and there’s something reproachful in the way he looks down at Bones, after that.

It takes a moment for that to register. “Me?” He coughs, sips at his water. “I’m a brain surgeon?” 

“Amongst other things,” Jim says easily, with a wave of his hand. “But you can’t really operate on yourself, especially not when you’re unconscious. So you’ve got to make sure this doesn’t happen again, right?”

“Right,” Bones repeats, even though he’s not quite sure what he’s agreeing to. There’s something else working in his brain, a series of doors opening and shutting in rapid succession. “Can I ask you something, Jim?”

“Anything.” 

Bones licks his lips, swallows. “If I’m not dying, and I’m gonna be out of here soon… would you want to have dinner, sometime?” 

Jim’s eyes go wide, his teeth peeking out over his bottom lip. “Are you asking me out, Bones?”

His voice is carefully neutral, but Bones feels anxious anyway. “Should I not have?” he says quickly. “I just figured—you’re a captain, but I’m a surgeon, that’s important… and you’re sitting here with me and you’re so hot, and I just had brain surgery, I’ve gotta go for it, right? I might not get another chance, and I want to kiss you real bad, right now.” 

“Do you,” Jim says, lifting his brows in what Bones hopes is an encouraging expression. “See, the thing is, Bones—”

“Oh, no,” he says. “You’re not seeing someone, are you?”

Jim lifts his left hand, and Bones spot a glint of silver on his third finger. “Married, actually.”

His heart drops. He shakes his head, looks away and tries for a laugh. “Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just, you were here, waiting for me, and everything’s a bit fuzzy, right now—”

“ _Bones_.” 

He looks up, abruptly. Jim’s shifted, on the bed, one hand on either side of Bones so that their faces are very close. 

“Yes?”

“I’m married to you,” Jim says. 

The words make sense individually, but not in order. “What?”

Jim laughs again, eyes glinting. “I’m married to you,” he says again. “You’re my husband. That’s why I’m waiting here for you, that’s why I’m going to be here until you’re well enough to come home to our quarters. Okay?”

“Okay,” he repeats slowly. 

Jim leans in, knocking the almost-empty glass to the ground. He kisses Bones gently on the lips, and Bones tries to shift his angle, get closer. But Jim puts one strong hand on his shoulder, forces him back down. His lips graze Bones’ cheeks, then his forehead, before he sits up and smiles.

“Get some rest, Bones,” he says, and Bones thinks that tone must work well for him, being a captain. “The medicine’ll wear off soon.”

“And then you’ll kiss me, again?”

“As often as you like.” As though to prove it, he presses his lips to Bones’ forehead again, then brushes the hair back from his brow. “You are gonna be so pissed about this tomorrow.”

“No,” Bones says, though every part of him feels heavy and rest doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.

“No?”

“I’m married to someone like you,” he says, dreamily. “What’s there to be pissed about?” 

“Nothing at all,” Jim says, very seriously. Bones nods, then lets his eyelids flicker shut. He feels Jim laying down beside him, one strong arm around both of his shoulders. Thus encircled, he quickly falls asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Basic concept taken from [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiviQfLyQX4) adorable video.
> 
> Title from a Journey song because why not.


End file.
